NEW YORK, Feb 23 —Wall Street stocks climbed early today, shrugging off three consecutive days of losses amid rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow.
Analysts said the outlook over Ukraine remained unsettling and uncertain, but attributed the early gains Wednesday to a bounce from investors taking advantage of an oversold market, and bolstered by some good earnings from Lowe’s and other companies.
About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent at 33,675.38.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent at 4,320.10, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 13,425.84.
US stocks have fallen in recent trading sessions as Washington warned repeatedly that Russian aggression towards Ukraine constituted a gradual invasion of the country.
Russian officials have vowed to respond to US sanctions announced yesterday, which targeted two banks and a few oligarchs, and aimed to cut Moscow off from financing.
Among individual companies, home-improvement chain Lowe’s jumped 5.8 per cent as it reported better-than-expected quarterly results, and an upbeat earnings forecast.
But TJX, parent of retail chain TJ Maxx, slumped 7.1 per cent as it reported disappointing results due to elevated labor and freight costs and declined to offer a full-year projection because of uncertainty over how long costs will stay pressured. — AFP
